Pezeshkian made the remark in a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the 17th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit in the Azerbaijani city of Khankendi on Friday.
"The principled stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to promote and expand relations and cooperation with neighboring and Muslim countries,” he said.
Iran has always expressed its readiness to patch up differences through negotiations, he said.
The Pakistani prime minister, for his part, once again condemned the Israeli regime’s acts of aggression against Iran.
Sharif defended Iran’s right to self-defense and its stance on the need to solve issues through negotiations.
Diplomacy still effective if other party adheres to commitments: Pezeshkian
In a meeting with Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon on Friday, Pezeshkian said diplomacy is still an effective way to solve conflicts if the other side adheres to its commitments.
"Iran still considers diplomacy to be an effective solution for resolving disputes provided that the other party demonstrates in practice that it is committed to this approach,” the Iranian president said.
He said the strong defense on the part of the Iranian Armed Forces during the Israeli regime’s 12 days of imposed war “prevented the spread and continuation of tension and conflicts.”
"While Iran was seeking to resolve issues through dialogue, the Zionist regime attacked our country," Pezeshkian said.
The Tajik president slammed the Israeli regime’s acts of aggression against Iran and called on all parties to return to the negotiating table and remain committed to diplomacy to solve differences.
Pezeshkian held separate meetings with Turkish and Azerbaijani presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev, respectively.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (L) shakes hands with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Azerbaijani city of Khankendi on July 4, 2025. (Photo by president.ir)
In an unprovoked act of aggression on June 13, Israel targeted Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists who had previously been placed on sanctions lists based on IAEA reports, as well as civilians.
After more than a week into the war, the US decided to make its collaboration with the Israeli regime official, with direct intervention in the war that the Israeli regime has been losing.
As the Iranian Armed Forces pounded Israel and its military and industrial infrastructure, the embattled regime was forced to unilaterally cease its aggression against Iran on June 24.